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UH Math Biology Major Receives Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship

April 2, 2013-Houston-

At Allen High School in North Texas, Lindsey Michelle Brier was
focused on sports and playing the French horn.

Today, the 21-year-old junior at the University of Houston is a
mathematical biology major in the Honors College who plans to pursue a career
conducting research in pharmaceutical chemistry and teaching at the university
level.

Lindsey’s research work has earned her a prestigious scholarship from
the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, one of the most
competitive of all national scholarships.

The Goldwater scholarship program,
established by Congress in 1986 to honor
Arizona Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, awards up to $7,500
to sophomores and juniors who are planning research careers in science,
technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).

Lindsey is participating in the UH Provost's Undergraduate Research
Scholarship program, conducting research with James Briggs in the biology
and biochemistry department. She also is a member of the Houston Louis Stokes
Alliance for Minority Participation Scholarship program and participated in the
Summer Research Training Program last year at the University of California at San
Francisco.

“The Goldwater scholarship is a great achievement for Lindsey and her
academic career,” said Stuart Long, associate dean of undergraduate research at
the Honors College and an electrical and computer engineering professor. “This
prestigious scholarship also is another example of UH students achieving Tier
One excellence in their studies.”

Lindsey is researching the toxicity differential between the cholera
toxin and the highly similar, but less deadly, enterotoxin in hopes of better
determining the influential interactions in the toxin responsible for causing
many epidemics.

Ultimately, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry.

“I believe that research, specifically the field of drug
discovery, is the future of medicine. I look forward to contributing back to my
field and improving the available health care we have,” Lindsey said. “I hope
to one day make a contribution that has a great impact on the way we can combat
certain diseases, like cancer. I also think I will really enjoy teaching a math
or chemistry course at the university level.

“The University of Houston has been an excellent experience
for me so far,” she said. “The Honors College has helped me so much. I’ve learned
time management, especially when I was taking the rigorous Human Situation
sequence. The writing skills I learned definitely helped me with the Goldwater
application process, and I have also really enjoyed the small class size that
encourages discussion in the math and science classes that the Honors College
offers.”

And though Lindsey’s focus has shifted to research in
college, she noted that she still plays the French horn at the UH Moores School
of Music as an extracurricular activity.

About
the University of Houston

The
University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research
university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best
colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive
Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential
learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation’s
fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 39,500 students in the most ethnically
and culturally diverse region in the country.